Good morning, Eastmark. Mother's Day is Sunday, and there's plenty going on around East Mesa to mark it. Saturday morning, the Eastmark Farmers Market is back at Great Park. Saturday night, mariachi at Mesa Arts Center for Mom: Amor Eterno from the East Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, 7 PM. In between, Gateway Library has a free fiddle concert at 2 PM. Sunday morning, the Farm to Mesa Market runs downtown if you want a quieter way to wrap the weekend.
🌹 Mariachi for Mom, Saturday night. Amor Eterno is at Mesa Arts Center at 7 PM, put on by the East Valley Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. Grab tickets at the box office. Details.
🥕 Eastmark Farmers Market is back Saturday morning. Great Park, 8 AM to noon. Local growers and makers, walking distance from most of the neighborhood. Details.
🎻 Gateway Library is busy Saturday. Yoga at 9, crochet and a puzzle swap at 10, then a free fiddle concert at 2 from Dr. Kate Rose and Armand Ramirez covering Arizona's old pioneer music. All ages, no registration. Details.
📋 Heads up: May 21. Mesa is running a public hearing on the property tax that funds Eastmark's roads, utilities, and shared infrastructure (the special district called CFD2). It sets next year's tax bill. Details.
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The Weekend
Today, Thursday, May 7
Friday, May 8
👶 Stay and Play · 10:00 AM · Gateway Library · Free · Details. Imagination stations for birth to 5 years.
🎨 Art After Dark · 10 AM to 10 PM · Mesa Arts Center · Details. All-day open studios in downtown Mesa.
🛒 Sunset Market · 5:00 to 8:00 PM · 1 N Macdonald, Downtown Mesa · Details
🎬 Moonlight Movie Night: Luca · 6:30 PM · ASU Mix Center · Free · Details
🎤 Main Street Comedy Show · 7:30 PM · Neighborhood Comedy Theatre, Downtown Mesa · Details
Saturday, May 9
🥕 Eastmark Farmers Market · 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM · Eastmark Great Park · Details. Local growers and makers, in the neighborhood.
🧘 Yoga 2.0: Modern Yoga for Real Life · 9:00 AM · Gateway Library · Free · Details
🧶 Crochet Away · 10:00 AM · Gateway Library · Free · Details. All ages, bring a project.
🧩 Puzzle Swap · 10:00 AM · Gateway Library · Free · Details
🎻 Wild West Fiddle Project · 2:00 PM · Gateway Library · Free · Details (see lead story)
🌺 Amor Eterno: Mother's Day Mariachi · 7:00 PM · Mesa Arts Center · Tickets available · Details
Sunday, May 10
🌾 Farm to Mesa Market · 8:00 AM to 12:00 PM · The Rosetta Room, Downtown Mesa · Details
Next Week
🎮 Gaming Club · Friday, May 15 · 5:00 to 8:00 PM · The 'Mark · Details. Every other Friday in the classroom; bring whatever.
Arizona's Pioneer Music Roots Come to Gateway Library, Saturday at 2 PM
Dr. Kate Rose and Armand Ramirez are playing live fiddle and guitar at Gateway Library this Saturday at 2 PM. Free, all ages. The show's called The Wild West Fiddle Project: Arizona's Hidden Soundscape, and it digs into Arizona's old pioneer-era folk music.
No registration. Just walk in.
Key facts:
When: Saturday, May 9 at 2:00 PM
Where: Mesa Public Library, Gateway Branch
Cost: Free, all ages
Registration: None required
The show is part of Mesa Library's America 250 series, a free cultural programming run rolling across branches ahead of the country's 250th.
The angle: how Arizona's pioneer-era sound came together. Indigenous music, settler tunes, and immigrant communities all in the mix.
Rose and Ramirez actually play. They don't just talk about it. So this is more of a live concert with context than a lecture with a fiddle at the end.
Gateway also has yoga at 9 and crochet plus a puzzle swap at 10 the same morning. The fiddle concert at 2 stands on its own. Full details at Mesa Library.
Around the Corner
🏘️ Public hearing on next year's Eastmark property tax: May 21
Mesa is holding a public hearing on May 21 to set the property tax for parts of Eastmark for the 2026–27 fiscal year.
The tax pays for Eastmark's roads, utilities, and shared infrastructure (the special district called Community Facilities District No. 2, or CFD2). Every year, the rate gets reset at this hearing.
What it means for homeowners:
If your home is in the CFD2 zone, whatever rate gets set at this meeting shows up on next year's property tax bill.
The hearing is the formal window to weigh in before the budget is locked.
It's an annual thing, but worth knowing it's coming.
Still Tracking
Quick check-in on stuff we've covered in past editions:
🛒 Sprouts at EastMarket (Ray and Ellsworth). Construction's underway. Building wraps up around August, Sprouts opens in Q4 2026.
🍎 Apple manufacturing on Signal Butte. Council votes on the Foreign Trade Zone agreement Monday, May 18.
🏢 Liv at Eastmark (NE corner Ellsworth and Ray). 208 apartments across 12 buildings, recently approved. Construction next.
🔧 Brakes Plus Mesa (Ellsworth and Elliot). Auto shop is still working through council site plan tweaks.
From the Schools
🏫 GPA PTO Elections: Monday, May 11 at 3:30 PM
Gateway Polytechnic Academy's PTO is voting in officers for the 2026–27 school year. School library, open to all GPA families.
Whoever gets elected runs orientation, fundraising, and family programming next year.
ICYMI
🦕 Arizona Fossil Fest 2026. Arizona Museum of Natural History, Saturday, May 9, starting at 10 AM. Museum's own booth is on the floor with other exhibitors. A fossil festival AND an anime convention in Mesa on the same Saturday is a very East Valley combo. Details.
🎌 Anime Arizona Spring. Mesa Convention Center, Saturday, May 9. Panels, cosplay, vendors across the full building. Caps off a busy spring there. Details.
🎭 RENT opens at Mesa Encore Theatre. Friday, May 15 at 7:30 PM. The 1990s musical (Bohemia, candles, rent checks) lands on the east side. Tickets available. Details.
🎵 Carole King and James Taylor tribute. Mesa Arts Center, Sunday, May 16 at 3:00 PM. Sonic Era Touring runs through the 1970s tour catalog: Tapestry, "Sweet Baby James," the rest. Tickets available. Details.
👻 Haunted Objects Investigation: Linda the Haunted Doll. Friday night at East Valley Paranormal HQ, 10:30 PM to midnight. Yes, this is a real event in East Mesa on a Friday night. Take from that what you will. Details.
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